Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024?
The year is coming to an end. Time to look back and reflect. What are the books you've read in 2023? Which books made you change your mind or you simply enjoyed? And which books would you recommend to others for 2024?
237 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 241 ms ] threadRiver of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile, Candice Millard
The Fleet That Had To Die, Richard Hough
Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, Five Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles Into the Darkness, Neil Swidey
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Three-Body Problem
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
I'd recommend leaving that one in the bathroom in case you run out of toilet paper.
In Rand's world, Musk (on a bad day) would be your god, your boss and your parent figure. I can see how it'd go down well with the rabid "I am the centre of the universe and all shall yield" types that seem to fall out of the American academic system into servitude friendly startups that are promoted on here like they are a good thing.
Like I said, toilet paper. Put it next to Mein Kampf and Ready Player Two. Both are as morally and literarily offensive in the same way.
It’s not meant to be realistic as it’s Rand’s belief system. It’s like complaining that Plato’s Cave isn’t realistic or something.
It’s nowhere near Mein Kampf and it’s a bit offensive to equate this with Hitler (or Ready Player Two).
Also, this is poor advice as this book is so big and the paper so thin it is absolutely horrible as toilet paper.
- Smil, Vaclav. How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going.
- Doucleff, Michaeleen. Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans.
The Blacktongue Theif - Christopher Buehlman
Kings of the Wyld * Bloody Rose - Nicholas Eames
Farseer Trilogy - Hobin Hobb
I'd add the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erickson to that list, if you like a grittier dark fantasy.
Something similar happens with Tad Williams.
Big baddie about to destroy town? When all hope is lost, a powerful, benevolent force sprouts from the ground to end the threat.
Science fiction gets “one thing”. People are the same, but now you can backup your conscience onto a chip. How does humanity adapt?
Erickson gets 1000 things that will be revealed the moment you think you know where the plot is headed.
All that being said, it is interesting, layered, and a wild ride.
I totally get where you're coming from here. I adore Erikson, and I enjoy Williams but I sometimes need to force myself to keep reading his works (and then really enjoy them when I do).
However, Bobby Dollar (his shorter trilogy) is exceptionally fun. It's much tighter and funnier, well worth reading maybe especially if you've bounced off his other works.
Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer
The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch
A Philosophy of Software Design, John Ousterhout
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. I loved this book because I learned so many new things about sleep. It also made me more disciplined about my sleeping habits.
Kilo by Toby Muse. The book is about cocaine trade in Colombia. It is eye-opening and generated intense negative emotions at times.
Tracers in the Dark by Andy Greenberg. I love to read about cybersecurity, hackers, etc. so this book was an amazing read.
I read many more books which I loved but keeping this list short. Many of these books were mentioned in the comments on HN!
Edit: fixed the spelling of Colombia
You mean Colombia?
Grant: https://www.amazon.com/Grant/dp/178854160X
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt: https://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosevelt-Modern-Library-Pap...
Novelist as a Vocation by Murakami
The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Moiya McTier
I started to read that but honestly had to stop on page 2, perhaps the earliest I've ever given up on a book. My initial impression was that it was written for children?
Political Religions, Eric Voegelin
The Warden, Anthony Trollope
The Mystery of the Grail, Julius Evola
I didn't read it this past year, but the first one that came to mind was Tigana. That book was rather weird for me, because the process of reading it wasn't very enjoyable, but after finishing I loved it.
If anyone has suggestions for fantasy or sci-fi books with weird or non-standard magic systems I'd love to hear em. I've already read most of the big names like Sanderson.
Glynn Stewart: Starship's Mage series
The Divine Comedy by Dante - It is hard to underestimate how much it has influenced our culture.
A Distant Mirror - The history of the 14th century, but engaging like a novel.
Name of the Rose - Mystery novel set in Medieval times.
On Lisp by Paul Graham - http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisp.html
Seasoned Schemer - Kind of an interactive book that teaches computer science concepts in an interactive paper based way. Probably best to start with the Little Schemer first.
So it is kind of a way of create a Socratic dialog with a book. I found it to be a great way to engage with the material in a way that promotes understanding in a hands on way, but without putting a computer in the way. When you are writing your answers you have to be more intentional than just, "well lets see if this works."
I also liked Eon by Greg Bear (RIP), for actually quite similar reasons.
edit: lol downvotes?
Set in the DnD universe a adventure retires and sets up a coffee shop in a large city. Except no one knows what coffee is, and her past follows her there.
This is a quick read at around 200 pages, so if you read massive fantasy tomes like I do you'll knock this one out really quickly. Where it shines though is its world building and the sense of community you get from the characters as you make your way through the story. I've been recommending it to my friends and they have all loved it just as much as I did.
What if? 2 by Randall Munroe. The physics, biology, and chemistry textbook we should have had in high school.
Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans de Waal. Primatologist with half a century of experience analyzes current gender identity debates from the viewpoint of someone who knows about more than one primate species (not just humans).
"Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy. I'm huge Hardy fan but hadn't read his masterpiece until this year
Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money (it's NOT about making money - I found it more useful on "adding value" more than "making money - it changed my perspective on 'how to work, how to operate, how to see things, how to see/seek/grab opportunities' but ultimately how to add value - _and_ get paid handsomely for it)(ok it is about making money, but as a result, not as a driver) (if you ignore the "too much Judaism" bits, it is a great book)(I read it a few years back and then again this year as a self-follow-up)
If you are a parent, Meg Meeker's - Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters - Strong Mothers, Strong Sons (if you ignore the "too much Christianity" bits, these are great books) I found them to be super useful manuals/cheatsheets to building strong loving and trusting relationships with my kid(s). I used it with/for my daughter and our relationship moved from a cold father-daughter-we-don't-understand-each-other to a thriving friendly loving respecting listening relationship where she ASKS to actually spend time with me. I cannot recommend it enough to any parent that asks me for books(again.. ignoring the "too much Christianity" bits)
(Disclaimer: I don't want to proselytize anyone to either/or/both Judaism, Christianity or any other religion.)(it's just that I found the Prosper and Strong books so useful..)
- The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas
- No Bosses by Michael Albert
Everyday Utopia was certainly a beautiful read, it is ultimately a book about hope and how we should be experimenting more in our world. The Persuaders had some really good insights into contemporary political persuasion tactics. No Bosses is very provocative in its argument for a change in the fundemantal division of labor in our age.
Also I would recommend the "Monk & Robot" series by Becky Chambers. It takes place in a solar-punk style world that is more character driven and less conflict driven.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13425570-how-will-you-me...
I always feel uneasy with the notion of work-life balance. At the same time I always want more time and attention with my family. Family is part of life, work is part of life, everything you do is part of life. Why the two often appear to be opposing each other? The book offers much counsel on family, parenting and profession. Many of the business examples appeared in the book Innovation Dilemma and a talk at google https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rHdS_4GsKmg
But one other mini-series stood out (potentially going to be a trilogy, but both #1 & #2 can stand alone).
Teixcalaan #1 & #2, "A Memory Called Empire" and "A Desolation Called Peace" by Arkady Martine for being very different feeling sci-fi books that are not your typical western-centric fare. Highlights are the language, and that the story feels both very small and contained, and also all-encompassing, at the same time.
Highly recommend the series, but a warning: if you find yourself bouncing off book one, don't bother with the rest of the series. I find that the later books are slightly better written and slightly better structured, but the core writing style issues are still there (notably, perspective whiplash and a magic system that is so complex that it sometimes feels like deux ex machina).
These were marvellous, well worth reading for any fans of Malazan/other fantasy or sci-fi.
RIP